Wing for aircraft



June 3 1924.

F. H. PAGE WING FOR AIRCRAFT Original Filed y 14, 1921 FIG. 2.

I 45 the burblin Patented June 3, I924.

FREDERICK HANDLEY PAGE, OF LONDON, ENG-LAND, ASSIGNOR TO HANDLEEY PAGELIMITED, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

WING FOR AIRCRAFT.

- Original application filed May 14, 1921, Serial No. 469,402. Dividedand this application filed August 14,

1922. Serial No. 581,824.

To all whom it may concern:

1 Be it known that I, FREDERICK HANDLEY PAGE, a subject of tl1e King ofGreat Britain, residing at London, England, have in- 5 vented certainnew and useful Improvements in Wings for Aircraft, of which thefollowing is a specification. i

The present invention is a division of my patent application Serial No.469,402 filed 1 lftlfl May 1921 relating to wings for aircra t.

In the specification of United States Patent No. 1,353,666 dated 21stSeptember 1920, a wing structure for aircraft has been described whichwas to be constructed with 'a small forwardly located auxiliary wing, orsmall auxiliary wings all forwardly located in the wing structure, andwhich forwardly located auxiliary wing or wings were separated from themain wing and from each other, where more than one auxiliary wing wasemployed, in order to produce in the forward part of the wing structurea comparatively narrow through slot or slots extending substantiallythroughout the wing in a direction transversely of the line of flight,said auxiliary wing having its nose located at the approxinate level ofthe nose of the main wing, and said auxiliary 0 wing having its angle ofincidence less than.

the angle of incidence of the main wing so as to mask the leadingportion of the main wing.

A characteristic feature of the invention therefore consisted in theprovision of the main wing, and then constructing one or a plurality ofsmall forwardly located auxiliary wings, arrangedone behind the otherand separated from each other and from the 40 main wing to produce a pluality of forwardly located through slots as aforesaid.

The object of the invention described in the specification No. 1,353,666as therein stated was to overcome what is knownas effect of the air onthe forward portion of t e upper surface of a wing, and it was explainedas being. already known that when a wing is inclined at an angle to theair through which it passes, the lift coefficient of such a wingincreases with the increase of its angle up to a certain critical angle,which I had found was between 12 and 25, and that beyond that angle thesuction effect suddenly became greatly diminished and that thisphenomenon I had found was due to the fact that the steady air streamover the top'of the plane causing the air suction was suddenly replacedby an eddying mass of air over the forward portion of the wing breakingup into a series of eddies whereby the suction effect was lost, andwhich phenomenon has been termed a burbling.

The object therefore sought to be attained by my invention, the subjectof Patent No. 1,353,666, was to prevent the burbling at the front orleading portion of the wing,

hence in the patent aforesaid the monopoly claimed related to theprovision of the small auxiliary wing or wings forwardly locatedrelatively to the main wing, and this invention has been provedeminently successful in attaining the object aimed at.

' Since the date of this aforesaid Patent No.

1,353,666, I have found that beyond preventing burbling above theforwardly located portion of the wing, an advantageous effect wasobtained by the interaction of one auxiliary plane upon another, thatis, that if the whole wing, or wing structure as it is hereafter termed,was composed from the front edge to the rear edge of a number ofauxiliary wings, or as hereafter termed wing sections, interaction wouldoccur between them and a greatly improved lifting effect at big anglescould be obtained.

In explanation I would state, that at the front edge of a plane the airrushes over the upper surface at great velocity and slows down towardsthe rear edge, and I have found that if the rear edge of any plane beplaced above the front edge of a succeeding plane, the velocity of theair passing over the rear upper edge of the front plane is increased andthe velocity of the air passing over the upper front portion of the rearplane is decreased, and therefore by constructing a wing structureashereafter described the velocity of the air over the whole wingstructure is equalized throughout and formation of eddies is prevented.

Now according to the present invention I construct what I have termed awing structure of a form as "illustrated and which may be described ashaving a convex upper surface and a concave lower surface with a bluifnose connecting these upper and lower curvesat the leading edge and ataper tail coming to a point at the after end and in which the thicknessor distance between the surfaces increases quickly at the nose until itattains the maximum thickness and diininishes therefrom gradually,continuously and without irregularities until the point of the of thetail is reached. This wing structure is wholly comprised by a pluralityof wing sections each of wing form, all extending transversely of thedirection of flight, one located rearward of the other from the leadingedge to the trailing edge of said wing structure and separated from eachother to form comparatively narrow through slots each extending in adirection transversely of the line of flight, the opening of each sloton the under side of said wing structure being located in advance of theopening of the same slot on the upper side of said wing structure, eachslot formed between said wing sections having its opening on the uppersurface of said wing structure less in width in the direction of theline of flight than its opening on the. under side of said wingstructure, all said wing sections being contained within a contour lineof wing form surrounding said wing structure with which contour lineportions of the surfaces of each wing section contact, all said wingsections combining to make up the contour of a whole wing structure.

lBy such a construction, as distinguished from the invention describedin Patent No. 1,353,666, l have found that the velocity of the air overthe whole of the upper surface of the wing structure becomes more orless equalized throughout and the formation of eddies, not only over theforwardly located upper surface, but over the wholeupper surface of thewing structure is prevented, and the efficiency of the wing structure isthus greatly increased. Q

The invention will be further described with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a diagram sectional view of a wing structure for aircraft,composed of a plurality of wing sections, and Fig. 2 is a part plan viewof the structure shown at Fig; 1.

eferring to the drawings, the wing structure shown consists of aplurality, of wing sections 1 each of wing form and extendingtransversely to the longitudinal axis of the machine as indicated atFig. 2, the said wing sections being separated from each other to formslots, the openings 2 of 7 said slots on the underside of the wingstructure being in advance of the openings 3 of said slots on the upperside, and it will be observed that all such wing sections 1 combine tomake up the contour of. the whole wing structure shown, the contour lineof the said wing structure contacting with the wing sections, the saidcontour being convex on its upper side and concave on its lower side.

The wing sections 1 are shown in the drawing in fixed relative positionsto each other and are arranged in tandem from the leading edge to thetrailing edge of the wing structure, and at Fig. 2 a portion of a wingrib 4 is indicated. In the specification of my United States Patent. No.1,353,666 hereinbefore referred to, it was explained that means wereprovided whereby the slots formed between what were termed the auxiliarywings and the main wing could be mechanically closed by the aviatorwhile in flight, it being advantageous in a high performance machinehaving a normal high speed of landing, to reduce the landing speed byopening the slots, the latter at other times being closed; and it wasfurther explained in theaforesaid specification that what were termedthe auxiliary wings might be pivoted so as to be capable of being movedinto contact with each other and with the rearward wing. lln the presentinvention it is obvious that if desired the wing sections 1 could besimilarly pivoted to the framework by which they are supported so thatthey could be turned about their pivots in order to open or close theslots between them.

What ll claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis 1. A wing structure for aircraft, comprised by a plurality of wingsections each of wing form, having a convex upper surface and a concavelower surface with a bluff nose connecting these upper and lower curvesat the leading edge and a tapertaill coining to a point at the after endand in which the thickness or distance between the surfaces increasesquickly at the nose until it attains the maxlmum thickness anddiminishes therefrom gradually, continuously and without irregularitiesuntil the point of the tail is reached all extending transversely to thedirection of flight, one located rearward of the other from the leadingedge to the trailing edge of said wing structure and separated from eachother to form comparatively narrow through sllots each extending in adirection transverselly of the line of flight, the openings of saidslots on the under side of said wing structure being located in advanceof the ope ings of said slots on the upper side of said wing structure,all said wing sections heing contained within and defining a contourline of the same wing it'orm surrounding said wing structure with whichcontour line portions of the surfaces of each wing section contact, allsaid wing sections comhining to make up the contour of a whole wingstructure. I

2. A wing structure for aircraft, comprised by a plurality of g sectionseach ililtl) of wing form, having a convex upper surface and a concavelower surface with a bluff nose connecting these upper and lower curvesat the leading edge and a taper tail coming to a point at the after endand in which the thickness or distance between the surfaces increasesquickly at the nose until it attains the maximum thickness anddiminishes therefrom gradually, continuous ly and without irregularitiesuntil the point of the tail is reached all extending transversely to thedirection of flight, one located rearward of the other from the leadingedge to the trailing edge of said wing structure and separated from eachother to form comparatively narrow through slots each extendin in adirection transversely of the line of ight, the opening of each slot onthe under side of said wing structure being located in advance of theopening of the same slot on the upper side of said wing structure, eachslot formed between said.

wing sections having its opening on the upper surface of said wingstructure less in width in the direction of the line of flight than itsopening on the under side of said structure, all said wing sectionsbeing'contained within and defining a contour line of 'the same wingform surrounding said wing structure with which contour line portions ofthe surfaces of each wing section contact, all said wing sectionscombining to make up the contour of a whole wing structure.

3. A wing structure for aircraft, comprised by a plurality of wingsections each of wing form, having a convex upper surface and a concavelower surface with a bluff nose connecting these upper and lower curvesat the leading edge and a taper tail coming to a point at the after endand in" which the thickness or distance between the surfaces increasesquickly at the nose until it attains the maxlmum thickness anddiminishes therefrom gradually, continuously and without irregularitiesuntil the point of the tail is reached all extending transversely to thedirection of flight, one located rearward of the other from the leadingedge to the trailing edge of said wing structure each wing section beingmasked by the wing section immediately preceding it, said wing sectionsbeing separated from each other to form comparatively narrow'throughslots each extending in a direction transversely of the line of flight,the openings of said slots on the under side of said wing v structurebeing located in advance of the openings of said slots on the upper sideof said wing structure, all said wing sections being contained withinand defining a contour line of the same wing form surrounding said wingstructure with which contour line portions of the surfaces of each wingsection contact, all said wing sections combining to make up the contourof a whole wing structure. t

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses. v

